Aloo Palak & Aloo Gobi

The summer internships have started and since all our husbands have finally gone off to work, the wives decided to get together and have a potluck dinner. Three of my dear friends, who are married to Shankar's classmates, and I shared a fantastic meal last night. We got together, discussed life, Akanksha's pregnancy, what our plans are post graduation, and compared where each of us will be traveling to over the summer to visit our husbands. The consensus on the dinner was that we would never have gotten such a good meal in any of the Indian restaurants in Ann Arbor, and how wonderful and cost effective it was to get together for a home cooked meal where we each left with lunch packed up for the following day. Life is so much better with Girlfriends!

The lovely blue china bowls were picked up this weekend as Shankar and I roamed the streets of Chicago's Chinatown as that is where I went travelling. I decided to make spinach since we picked up a few fresh bunches at the fantastic vegetable markets on Devon St. in Chicago.

I wanted to use the fresh spinach in my fridge, so the first place i headed was JFI Greens, a collection of recipes at Indira's Mahanandi by fellow food bloggers using all kinds of green leafy vegetables. This recipe is taken from one of my favorite sites, Anita's "A Mad Tea Party". I love the simplicity of AMTP's dishes. My husband is better at making dishes with complex spice blends, but I enjoy making dishes where the vegetables are highlighted with a few key aromatic ingredients. AMTP recommends mustard oil, but I used olive oil.

1. In a few tbsp of oil saute the ginger and green chillies and asafetida. Then cook the onions.2. Add the tomatoes until they release some water, and turn into a pulp.3. Add the potatoes and salt them generously.4. Add the spinach and mix it in until it wilts.

The Aloo Gobi recipe is from my friend Sandhya Balan. She and her husband Jay invited Shankar and I over for dinner and she served up a feast that included this recipe. I liked it so much I had to know how to make it. She shared below, and look carefully for her secret ingredient! I added the methi leaves to it.

1. Fry the cumin seeds in some oil.2. Saute the onions.3. Add the turmeric, and chili powder.4. Add the potatoes and mix. Add salt.5. Add the cauliflower, peas, methi, sambar powder and mix.6. Transfer to a casserole dish and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for 25-30 minutes until nicely roasted.

Roasting the vegetables in the oven give it a very unique flavor, as does the sambar powder!

Verdict: I think everyone agreed that all the dishes were delicious. Namrata's homemade roti's were particularly appreciated. Akanksha is such a sweetheart and woke up early to make her chole before working all day on their release! Thanks to Pooja for welcoming us into her home and for her innovative masala macaroni dish. I'm already looking forward to my lunch today!

so it was girl's party time! u bet, life is much better with girlfriends;) loved those china dishes...blue china compliments the golden yellow colour of aloo gobi. did u say masala macaroni? wow...sounds very interesting! i am chewing my dry sandwitch here and envy u for having all those yummy dishes for lunch:) enjoy kanch:)

Hi! I love your blog and have been subscribing to it for a while now. Are there any Indian markets in Ann Arbor? I live in Lansing but frequently drive through A2. I do have a market here, but it is pretty small.Thanks for all your recipes!

I agree kanch,a potluck with close friends is my fav form of get togethers.Your dishes look great.Like everyone else,I would love to know about the masala macaroni too:)The photos remind me of the get togethers me and my friends here used to have until a year ago.Then everyone got busy with their growing up kids and potlucks became a thing of the past.